Seven Paths to Death by Dorothy Hoobler
Memorable Quotes:
-"I think you will find too much information is dangerous." - Rofu
-"If I am playing card and I have a winning hand, I raise the bet. I don't worry that it's not fair to those who have a losing hand." - Gaho

-" I can tell when people are lying." The Judge Ooka


Critics response:

* "Hot on the heels of A Samurai Never Fears Death (2007), this latest in the Samurai Mystery series, which is set in eighteenth-century Japan, reunites adversaries Seikei, adopted son of Judge Ooka, and ninja Kitsune as they separately race toward an unusual treasure. The kicker is that each piece of the treasure map is tattooed on the back of a different man. The moral ambiguity of the ending is a surprise, but like its predecessors, this is a successful historical mystery, chockablock with adventure (including a bit of mostly offstage violence) and cultural details. An afterword fills in facts. Grades 6-9."
--Stephanie Zvirin --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
* “This is a successful historical mystery, chockablock with adventure and cultural details.” —Booklist
* "This is the final book in the Samurai Mysteries series. It is pretty much similar to previous books in the series in style and plot pace. So if you were a fan of previous books you'll like this one. I really enjoy all the interesting historical facts about Japan and love that the authors tell you what is real history and what is made up at the end of the book.In this book Seikei is drawn into a mystery involving a man found near death with part of a map tattooed on his back. Ends up this map is tattooed on seven different men's backs. Seikei and Judge Ooka need to find out where the map leads if they are going to unravel a plot to overthrow the Shogun.As I said this is pretty much on par with previous books. There is not as much adventure in this book, it is more of a mystery. Seikei spends a lot more time with Judge Ooka than by himself. In this book we learn a lot about the history of the yakuza and the Japanese art of tattooing. The writing style is somewhat simplistic, which matches the previous books in this series.Overall it was a great mystery with some very interesting historical facts about Japan thrown in. The ending wraps the story up nicely, but there really isn't anything pointing at this book being the last book in the series. I keep wondering if they will write more books, but on their website it states that this is the last one. I would recommend this book for younger readers (elementary school to middle school) who like mystery and action." -- by K. Eckert

* "A wonderful young adult mystery series. These are not for the very young due to the subject manner, yet much more benign than the titles would indicate. Even into this latest book in the series, every paragraph is filled with new insight into the culture of historical Japan, enhancing the intriguing elements of the mystery that draws one into the compelling story." -- by The Walker.























Why I chose what I chose:

Quote one: I chose this quote because in the book it comes up a lot and we use this in every day life if you told someone a secret you're bound to get something bad back in return. It also states a lot of the time if that Kitsune knew a lot about a person with a tattoo the information would go right back to Lady Osuni. That means she would cease that person. Also when Seikei and his dad went to Lady Osuni they told her information about how they knew what she was up to. She told Kitsune. the ninja, to go find the people with the tattoos. So, she used that against Seikei and his dad to get the rest of the map.

Quote two: I chose this one because it shows that no one is fair and that we all take chances. This quote really showed how Gaho's outlook on life was. He didn't care about others, he just cared about winning the game and in life people are so worried about getting revenge. This is why I like Seikei because even though Kitsune treated him wrong he didn't care he didn't want to kill Kitsune just because of something that happened a long time ago.

Quote three: I chose this quote because most of the time we will tell someone that it is easy to tell when someone is lying, then they break out of their shell and tell the truth. That is why I also like Judge Ooka, better known as Seikei's dad, because he is wise and he knows if he can tell someone that, they will also crack down under the pressure and tell the truth. I like how the author shoved in a little bit of honesty in the book because it really stuck to me. In the chapter where this quote is Judge Ooka says " I can tell when people are lying." he says it repetitvely because it strongly reminds the person to tell the truth. Judge Ooka is a very wise character in the book. I really like how the author made such a very strong willed and brave, wise character.

Video one: In this video there is an author of a book who tells about the life of people in Japan. It also mentions the "ya-ku-za" tattoo and it says that people with this tattoo originate from gangs. People in Japan fear these people because they are very violent and cause a lot of problems. In my book a couple people had that tattoo so that ment they were in the gang that was violent. My book is also based on tattos so I thought this video really explained how tattoos are really popular over in Japan.

Video two: This video talks a lot about violence and crime in Japan. In my book there is a people getting killed and things being stolen. It talks a lot about how Japan is based on people who get the ya-ku-za and get into doing criminal activity. In my book people were into doing criminal skemes and killing. Basically this video tells about the life in Japan. My book has an outlook on how Japan is. Also in the video it talks about weopons and how it isn't hard to get them. Also in my book it is talking about getting weaopns through a map so they relate in that way too.